h.e.l.lo (o´▽`o)ﾉ

Chapter 27: That time when I went to observe what I’ll be doing at work

I woke up early so I decided to go to the kitchen to make a light breakfast. The meringue cookies were no longer there. Well, that’s better than having leftovers I guess.

What I made was just bread with some lettuce and bacon in it. It would have been even better if I just had eggs, tuna and mayo to add to it but I can’t do anything about things that aren’t there.

It would have been nice to have white rice, grilled fish, and natto. I want to eat that but rice is really hard to find. What was the process of making natto again? Get some soya beans and wrap them in straw? Manufactured natto is good and all but I wonder if it would be fine if an amateur makes it.

「Ara, good morning. So you can make sweets as well. You’re unexpectedly diligent. It was delicious」
「Ah, good morning. I just didn’t want to waste anything so I decided to make that using the leftover ingredients」
「That was made from leftover ingredients? Moreover, the fact that you were able to make sweets with that is quite amazing you know?」
「Well, it was just leftover egg whites」
「Is that so?」

After saying that, I finished eating my bread and drank my milk. She wasn’t surprised at all about it only being egg whites…

「Oh yeah, I was told by the gatekeeper-san that I should report to him when I find a place to live. Does this building have a name?」
「Clinochlore」
「Ok. Thanks」

I wonder what it means. I think it has a nice ring to it though…

I headed straight for the guild afterwards. Ever since the first time I came here, I’ve already had a job in mind that I wanted to accept.

「I’d like to take this rank 1 quest of repairing the protective wall」
「Certainly. Please present your guild card and wait for a moment」

She said that and started writing something on a paper.

Rank 1: Indefinite・repairing the town’s protective wall Quest taker：Caam: Rank 1 Remarks: Can use magic

「Here you go. If you show this paper to the gatekeeper, you will be exempted from paying the toll fee. As for the construction site’s location, after exiting the gate, walk along the wall towards the direction where the sun sets and you should be able to see it. Once you finish the job, you should receive a mark of completion from the person in charge. That badge would be necessary in order to raise your rank so please don’t lose it. Do you have any questions?」
「I don’t have anything to ask right now. I just plan to go to and talk to the person in charge for today to ask about the stuff I need to know and such. I actually plan to start working tomorrow.」
「Understood. Your rank would increase once you’ve acc.u.mulated enough badges. In your case, you would need 10 badges to raise your rank to 2」
「Okay. Then, would my rank increase to rank 3 if I just keep on collecting badges and come here once I have 30? If I take quest 1 rank lower than mine, I have to complete 20 quests, right?」
「I’m sorry about this but that would make the process complicated. Once you’ve collected 10, please hand it over as soon as you can」
「Okay」

That seems pretty inconvenient.

I immediately went to the gate and after reaching a small guardroom-like place, I called out.

「Excuse me, I came since I’ve already decided on a place to live」
「Your name?」

When I heard that, I just honestly replied.
It didn’t take that long for him to find my doc.u.ments this time.

「So? Which place have you decided to live in?」
「It’s Clinochlore」
「Ah, That place. I see… Well, just do your best」
「Uhm, you became quiet there for a bit there. Is something the matter?」
「It’s just that…that place has become something like a gathering spot for weird people. Lately, I’ve been thinking that place is cursed since only weird people want to live there for some reason. I was just a bit surprised」
「Ha…… Well, I guess my neighbors are a bit eccentric」
「I know, right? The landlady has a beautiful appearance though so she fits into my strike zone」

I can understand that feeling.
It seems like I’m living in some kind of famous place. I just hope that doesn’t mean that I’ll be encountering dangerous kinds of people from now on.

I immediately exited the gate after that. Walking westward, I was able to find people who were working so I went to the person who looked like he was in charge.

「Excuse me. I got some work from the guild but, is this the right place?」
「Aa? Ah, that’s right. This here is the reconstruction site. Are you the newcomer?」
「Yes. Please treat me well」

I gave an energetic reply. It would probably be better to be concise in a place like this.

「Are you starting today?」
「The plan is that I would be starting tomorrow. I just came today to ask what I about what I need to know about working here」
「The tools are compiled over here. You can bring your own bento or money to buy lunch. You can also bring a towel to wipe your sweat with if necessary」
「Understood. Is it okay if I observe for a bit?」
「Just don’t get in the way」

That said, he went back to work. He really looks like an uncle who makes a living by only working as a blue-collar worker in public works jobs. He also looks really scary especially with that horn growing on his head. Well, compared to Ichii-san he isn’t that scary.

I started observing and it seems like they are making some bricks. They first mix a soil-like material, sand, and water and mix it. Next, they put it in a mold and dry it. After drying, they carry it to the kiln for firing. After that, they load the finished bricks into a cart and transport them. I don’t know where but I’m sure it’s a place that needs repairs. With that, I ended my observation.

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing but I’ll just use Physical Augmentation if I have to. I’ll use it at 10% if I have to.

「Oh, it’s the soon to be newbie! Let’s go to eat」
『!?』

Hm? Did he say something?

「In any case, you’re heading back inside, right? Then, you should come with us. We can also do our introductions at the same time」
「Roger」「ういっす」

I tried to reply like that for a bit.

After entering the gate, we immediately headed to a diner. There, everyone took out their bread and ordered either short order meals or just the daily special.

「Let’s start with the introductions first. I’m the boss so you can just call me that. What about you?」
「My name is Caam」
「Well then, since a dark blue skin’s rare, how about we call you 『Kon』 or 『Yoru』」1

That’s way too simple…but as a nickname, I guess that makes sense.

「I’m 『Kitsune』」
「I’m called 『Macho』」
「Tsuno2-san」
「There are still others who aren’t here so just introduce yourself to them next time」
「Roger」「ういっす」

Those were some terrible nicknames… By the way, 『Tsuno-san』 was called that since he has 3 horns. I wonder if he’ll hit me if I call him that. Well, whatever.
『Kitsune』-san was, as you would expect, a fox beastman. I haven’t seen any of them at the village so it’s the first time I’ve seen people with fox ears and tail. Fox spirits are nice!
If I think about the fact that there are fox women, it makes me feel restless. I want to mofumofu them. I’ll probably get hit by Suzuran though…

「Well then Kon, today’s my treat. Tomorrow, you should come to the site once the sun has risen 1/10th above that mountain」

Okay. That should be around 8 am.

「I understand. And also, thanks for the meal」
「Ou, don’t mind it since this place is pretty cheap. You can just introduce me to a nice girl at the red-light district next time」
「Ahー, well… I’ll do my best」

I guess I’ll look for that ‘Sweet memory’ place.

That was terrible. I was naive for thinking that everything will be fine since it was still noon. I’m not sure if this is a standard in this world but it seems like the red-light district in this town is also open during the day so they were already aggressively inviting customers.

They kept hugging my arm and pressing their b.r.e.a.s.t.s against me. I also saw some underwear, or better yet, they were only in their underwear.

【Skill・Charm Resistance: 4】acquired.

As expectedー. I can still vividly remember when I got caught by that onee-san with large b.r.e.a.s.t.s and a lot of exposed skin. Even though my resistance increased, my will faltered for a bit when she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against me. Walking along the street, I found the shop where Celesso-san was so I decided to enter it. I’m a bit reluctant about entering these kinds of places but I was unexpectedly calm when I resolved myself.
I was told to refer him so I’ll have to know the estimated price since it would be terrible if the place I told him was expensive. Wait, I don’t even know what the normal rate is…

「Welcome~」

Hmm, what a really nice body. She’s a.s.signed by the entrance so she has to be presentable since she’ll have to deal with guests.

「I didn’t come here to buy today」
「Do you just want to drink~?」
「No, not that as well. You see, I was recently asked by a colleague to introduce him to a nice girl from the red-light district. Since I happened to know of this place’s name, I came to check it out」

I’m not sure if it was wise to give her an honest reply like that but I had no choice. I have to make my intentions clear since there’s a good chance I’ll get coerced into trying out their services.

Her expression suddenly changed but she still maintained the minimum amount of hospitality needed when serving customers.

「Is that so? Well then, this is just fruit water but please drinking while you’re looking inside. Here you goー」

She suddenly got out of customer serving mode but she still let me in. I wonder what would have happened if I mentioned Celesso-san’s name.

I just accepted the fruit water, sat in a corner and carefully looked around the room. The plan for now is to just look around the room and try to remember their main features.
They drink from time to time drinking for a while, they head to the second floor once they get deeper into their conversation. They still charge for the drinks but everything else after that is up for discussion, is that how it goes?

I haven’t visited these kinds of shops even in my previous life so I wouldn’t know but it’s not really interesting to watch the events unfold while sober. A few of the shop’s girls sat beside me while I was in the middle of my observations. They would snuggle up against my body and ask, “How about it?”. To my relief, they immediately decide to leave once they find out that I’m not interested.

Now that I think about it, I guess I should have just ordered sake at the very least out of courtesy.

I already had already more or less memorized the characteristics of the girls they had so I was about to go home when Celesso-san came down the stairs with some guy and glanced at my direction. Our eyes met but she didn’t come to talk to me until she had escorted the other guy out. Well, I guess that’s the proper etiquette in these kinds of situations.

「Didn’t you say you wouldn’t partake in this kind of activity since your girlfriend would kill you? If you changed your mind, should we go upstairs right now?」

She was grinning as she said that so I told her the purpose of my visit.

「Then, I guess I should take a break」

With that said, she sat in front of me and had her meal.

While she was eating, she kept doing things like licking her lips and other seductive actions like that so something started growing. I was already done with my observations but I continued doing that to distract myself. I didn’t change anything in particular with my methodology and just kept on memorizing the characteristics of the women coming down.

「Hey, are you sure you didn’t come to buy」
「Yeah, how many times do I have to say it?」
「It’s rare for a man to come to these sorts of places without indulging in a woman’s services, you know? Don’t you see any girl you’re interested in? Your eyes kept on s.h.i.+fting just now and I noticed that you were only staring at the girls」

She noticed all of that even though she was still eating? Is it because of her job? She also pays attention to the customer’s gaze and conducts I guess.

「I’ve decided on a place to work. The boss of that place treated me to lunch but I was told to refer him to a cute girl at the red-light district next time. Since I just came to this town, I don’t know anybody else here so I just decided to come to the workplace of Celesso-san who I just happened to meet by chance yesterday. This might be impolite but have already more or less memorized the characteristics of this shop’s girls」

It was probably really inappropriate but I can no longer take back what I said.

「Hmm, then, how would you describe me?」
「Height is slightly shorter than me and has large b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Has purplish hair that’s close to pink. Wears a black leather outfit that has a lot of exposed areas. How was that?」
「Hmm, so that’s the method you use. It’s certainly quite rude. Then, how about that girl who just went up? Let’s see you try and describe her now that you can no longer see her」

Fufufuー, she laughed while saying that.

「She is a head shorter than me and has small sheep-like horns. Looks really thin and has a slightly immature face. Hair color is pale blonde. She only has a few exposed areas in her outfit so she gives this pure image」
「Un, that’s Saitee3 alright. What are you doing to do with all that details you memorized?」
「Well, he told me that a s.e.xy girl with large b.r.e.a.s.t.s would be good so I’ve been only looking for that and I’ve already six of them so there’s that」
「Your memory is quite good but it’s a bit creepy」

Un, I can somehow hear her favorable impression of me cras.h.i.+ng down.

「Then, what about your type?」
「The girl that I like is my type」
「Araー, how specific. Then, how would you describe your girlfriend?」

「Uhm, wellー. She’s taller than me, is really slim and has no b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She has shoulder length smooth black hair and likes meat. Ahー, she was also able to blow a goblin’s head off just by swinging her spear so she’s really strong. To be honest, my strength doesn’t even compare to hers. She even forcefully a.s.saulted me one time」
「So, does that mean you like a.s.sertive girls?」

It seems like she’s really interested in it. Her facial expression is gradually turning into a grin.

「Nonono. We both like each other but she just got impatient since I was being timid about it and wasn’t making any moves. She even tried to entice me but still didn’t do anything so she attacked me, or something like that. They just use that to tease me about being a wimp these days though」
「So you didn’t have any guts to do it, huhー. Why didn’t you make any moves on her?」
「Hm, well, I just didn’t want to do it on a whim because if she got knocked up, we wouldn’t be able to raise that child since I didn’t even have a job at that time. I’m only nine4 you know?」

I’m almost forty inside though.

「You hanged in there didn’t you. Onee-san is worried about you, you know?」
「I’m glad that someone understands」
「Isn’t that girl a bit similar to your girlfriend? She’s gentle though so you probably won’t be satisfied. Should I put in a word for you for when you get lonely?」
「……you totally didn’t understand, did you?」
「Don’t compare the Succubus’ race mentality with other races, okay?」

It was getting awkward so I immediately changed the topic.

「Ah, that’s right. Regarding the price, it seems like there is some kind of negotiation happening but how much do you usually charge? I just want to ask since I haven’t entered any other shops」
「Araー? You just asked something rude, didn’t you?」
「I’ve been saying rude things up until now so isn’t it all the same?」

We both laughed with that.

「This place is just a bit more expensive compared to the other places. About 3~5 large copper more expensive」
「No… I was asking about the average price…」
「That’s bound to change every time, you know? It’ll depend on how much the girl is asking and how willing the customer is to pay」
「That’s good enough. Thank you very much. I’ll tell them that it’s 3~5 large copper more expensive compared to the other shops」
「Sure sure. I’ll be waiting. Bring a lot of people okay?」

I bought ingredients for dinner and went home immediately after that. I met the landlady as I walked in so I greeted her but her nose twitched so she probably smelled something from me. She started giving me a cold stare afterwards so she’s probably misunderstanding something but anything that I say here would just be excuses so I just kept quiet.

It’s troubling how excellent the nose of a person from the beastman type of race is.

~Idle Talk~

「Celesso-san, who was that guest who was not a customer earlier? Someone who comes to these kinds of shop and doesn’t even drink would stand out, you know?」
「Ahー, that was the kid who moved into the room next to mine yesterday. He was looking for a job today but when he found one, he was treated to lunch by the boss and he was apparently told to introduce him to a ‘cute girl from the red-light district’. He knew of this place since I told him when I introduced myself so that’s the reason why he came here」
「Hmm, then he’ll come here sooner or later, right? I have taken a liking to him so you don’t mind if I start aiming for him, right?」
「That’s probably impossible since that kid’s he has a girlfriend back home waiting for him. He’s also really faithful to her since it seems like she’s really scary person. She was able to blow a goblin’s head off with just a spear so it seems like she’s really strong. If he cheats, would be left half dead.
His girlfriend has a really good intuition as well. You might be able to invite him to talk while having a drink but you’d get rejected once you draw up close and pressing your b.r.e.a.s.t.s against him so just give it up.」
「Too bad~. Is it really okay to just sit next to him while drinking sake I wonder? This is like one of those unrequited love situations, right? Please lend him to me, girlfriend-san」
「Just try to negotiate if you meet his girlfriend」

It seems like people from the succubus race are just naturally brazen.

Next ⇒ Footnotes:kon(紺) or kon’iro(紺色) means dark blue or a dark shade of blue in j.a.panese while Yoru(夜) means night/evening which is dark blue I guesshornサイテー Might not be a nameFor those turned off by that, just think of it like in dog years…